Thursday, December 27, 2007
Unheralded freshman corner could step into major role
Academic losses leave Cavaliers in a bind for Gator Bowl
Doug Doughty
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When Al Groh was discussing his tailback rotation for the Gator Bowl, the first person he mentioned Thursday was Andrew Pearman.
Gee, I’d forgotten all about Andrew Pearman.
In an early afternoon teleconference from Jacksonville, Fla., Groh left open the possibility that tailback Mikell Simpson and cornerback Chris Cook would be available for a Jan. 1 meeting with Texas Tech, although neither player traveled with the team.
Groh cited privacy laws and did not offer any reason for their unavailability, but, from all indications, they are academically ineligible. When Groh said he expected “final resolution” in the next day or two, presumably he was referring to an appeals process.
If a player is eligible in the fall, all he needs to eligible for a bowl is to pass six hours -- the equivalent of two classes. Basically, the rule is only in place to prevent a senior from participating in football while not attending classes. Most people would agree that six credit hours is not a stringent requirement.
When it appeared Wednesday that the Cavaliers were on the verge of losing Cook, their best cornerback, that was a big enough blow by itself. Gator Bowl opponent Texas Tech only boasts the No.1 pass offense in the country.
The Red Raiders’ defense isn’t as formidable, but Virginia will need to put a lot of points on the board because it can’t expect to shut down Texas Tech for 60 minutes. Simpson, with a team-high 38 receptions and 400 rushing yards, would be a big part of that.
The Cavaliers went into the season not knowing if they had one ACC-caliber running back and discovered they had two: Cedric Peerman, the early season ACC rushing leader, and Simpson, almost all of whose statistics were accumulated in the last five games.
Peerman, who subsequently underwent foot surgery, was never going to play in the bowl. In the absence of Simpson, UVa would be down to three scholarship tailbacks -- Pearman, Keith Payne and Raynard Horne. Virginia couldn’t have recovered from Peerman’s injury at Middle Tennessee State if not for the contributions of Payne, their leading rusher in a 23-21 victory at MTSU, or Pearman, who scored two touchdowns. If you don’t believe it, just go back and read all the flowery prose that was written about those two at the time.
Horne is another matter. When he and Payne joined the program as fellow “big” backs in the 2006 entering class, many thought that Horne was on a par with Payne everywhere but in his press clippings.
Horne does not have a single rushing attempt this season and usually does not travel with the team.
“This sounds like a non-answer,” Groh said. “But it’s kind of been a non-progress with [Horne’s] game. In a lot of different facets, his game is kind of at the same place that it was some time ago, which means that there’s significant promise there and a good level of skill. But the overall performance is not matching that of the other guys in the backfield.”
Payne can run the ball and Pearman can catch the ball, but they don’t balance those attributes as well as Simpson or Peerman. Another thing that stands out about Simpson is his nose for the end zone; in less than half a season, he had eight touchdowns, seven rushing and one passing.
Even before Cook’s status was placed in question, Virginia had to know that younger cornerbacks like redshirt freshmen Mike Parker and Trey Womack would be pressed into service. UVa frequently plays three cornerbacks at the same time, and that’s when it isn’t facing opponents like Texas Tech, which attempts more than 57 passes per game.
Cook and sophomore Vic Hall went most of the way against Virginia Tech, particularly after an injury to Ras-I Dowling, who suffered a concussion on Virginia’s first punt and never returned to the game.
Dowling figured to get ample playing time against Texas Tech anyway, and now he’s likely to start in Cook’s place. Dowling actually had been starting up to the Tech game, having moved ahead of Parker during a part of the season when Cook missed three games with a sprained knee.
In the event that Cook’s “suspension” holds, look for Dowling and Hall to start, with Parker playing almost as much as the starters. For the season, Parker actually played more plays (387) than Dowling (328) but Dowling was getting more time over the last month of the season. Parker and Dowling are both listed at 6 foot 2, which might be of some benefit against the likes of Texas Tech’s 6-3, 208-pound Michael Crabtree, a first-team All-American as a freshman.
“He was penciled in for a fairly significant role even before this,” said Groh of Parker. “The eligibility next to his name says redshirt freshman and that’s probably a pretty good description in terms of how his year has gone.
“He’s shown very good promise and has progressed. I wouldn’t say that he’s a true veteran player right now. There’s still certainly space for more progress. But with multiple practices against an offense like this, no aspiring defensive back could ask for a December where he could have a better opportunity to step his game up.”
